In today’s episode, we’re discussing a topic that’s impossible to escape when talking about Poland: religion. It’s come up during many of our previous episodes, so it’s time to fill in the gaps.

How did religion come to play such a big role in Polish public life? Is Poland following Western Europe and starting to secularise? What does the process of leaving the Catholic Church look like? And what's the future of the Polish Church?

To find out, we invited Katarzyna Zielińska, Associate Professor at the Institute of Sociology at Jagiellonian University in Cracow. Her research focuses on on religion, gender and democracy in Poland.

We are also discussing our personal experiences of growing up in the Church in 2000s Poland, and leaving it behind.

***More resources***

Poles face a crisis of faith: not in God, but in the Catholic Church - article in Notes from Poland

https://notesfrompoland.com/2023/04/18/poles-face-a-crisis-of-faith-not-in-god-but-in-the-catholic-church/

Też Odchodzę - a podcast (in Polish) about the experience of leaving the Catholic Church

https://open.spotify.com/show/6gHvlkcwjIam9ZQ88TJ2Of?si=4MGvhnwwRK6ZqrNojefwHw

“Poland lies nowhere, it is a universal idea”: Maria Janion, uncanny Slavdom and Polish identity

Sacred and Secular: Religion and Politics Worldwide - book by Pippa Norris and Ronald Inglehart

Same Plusy - apostasy advice (in Polish)